Joey Votto swats troll at Reds game (Video)

Joey Votto responded to a fan’s attempt to heckle him with a hilarious and epic comeback.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was taking hacks in the on deck circle when a nearby fan started barking insults at him. The interaction was captured by Twitter user @THEkeeganhaag and can be seen below.

The video starts with the fan saying to Votto, “I remember when you used to be good.” Votto immediately responds to the fan, “I remember when you used to be thin.”

When Votto  accuses the fan of not using “facts,” the fan mentions a base running mishap in which Votto was apparently not on the correct base.

Votto remains stoic, acknowledging that someone is filming the interaction and then tells the fan, “I got something to lose. You guys don’t even have a life, so you have nothing to lose at all.”

Votto’s entire response to the fan is perfect. First, he responds quickly with several witty remarks. Being able to utter “I remember when you used to be thin,” without so much as a pause while waiting to bat in a Major League Baseball game furthers my belief that Votto is one of the most awesome players in the game.

His assertion that he has “something to lose” is also spot on. Rarely do players fare well when choosing to interact with heckling fans. Votto (mostly) took the high rode here, choosing to say nothing while also saying a lot.

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Moreover, the fan is entirely wrong about how Votto “used to” be good. Votto has a 1.005 OPS, 12 homers and 38 RBI this year, which is only about average by his standards.

Votto has finished top-7 in the MVP vote five times, winning it in 2010. The future Hall of Famer is a career .312/.424/.538 hitter.

Channeling Mitch Hedberg, Votto used to be good. He still is good, but he used to be, too.